FERAL STRENGTH ACTIVATED.
Power surged through Harold's body like a sudden burst of electricity.
His muscles tightened instantly as the familiar warmth spread through his arms and legs, sharpening his movements and clearing the fog from his mind.
Across the grass, the feral hound lunged again.
Marcus barely managed to dodge the creature's snapping jaws, stumbling backward as its claws scraped violently across the ground where he had been standing only a second earlier.
"Move!" Marcus shouted.
Harold didn't hesitate.
He sprinted forward.
The world around him felt slightly slower, as if everything had dropped half a step behind his movements. Each stride carried more force than it normally would have, his shoes digging into the grass as he rapidly closed the distance between himself and the monster.
The feral hound turned its glowing eyes toward him.
It growled low in its throat, the sound deep and aggressive.
Harold didn't slow down.
The monster leaped.
This time Harold was ready.
He shifted to the side at the last possible moment and drove his fist into the creature's ribs. The impact sent a dull shock through his arm, but the feral hound staggered sideways with a startled yelp.
Marcus stared.
"What the—" he muttered under his breath, eyes fixed on Harold in disbelief. Wasn't Harold supposed to be the one who didn't get a system?
The feral hound recovered quickly, snapping its jaws toward Harold's leg.
Harold jumped back just in time, the claws missing him by inches.
"Hit it again!" Marcus shouted.
"I'm trying!" Harold replied through clenched teeth.
The monster lunged a second time.
Marcus stepped forward immediately, activating his strength skill again. A faint glow spread across his arms as he swung a powerful punch toward the creature's head.
The strike connected.
But it barely slowed the monster down.
The feral hound snarled and slammed into Marcus, knocking him off balance. Marcus crashed hard onto the grass.
The creature immediately turned toward him.
Harold reacted instantly.
He grabbed a thick, broken tree branch lying nearby and swung it like a bat.
The wood cracked loudly as it struck the monster's skull.
The feral hound yelped and stumbled again.
"Get up!" Harold shouted.
Marcus scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily.
"Okay… okay… that actually hurt it," he said between breaths.
The monster growled, shaking its head as if trying to recover.
Harold glanced briefly at the system window hovering in front of him.
FERAL STRENGTH ACTIVETIME REMAINING: 2 MINUTES
Not much time.
"Marcus," Harold said.
"Yeah?"
"Next time it lunges, hit it from the side. As hard as you can."
Marcus nodded.
"Got it."
The feral hound lowered its body again, clearly preparing for another attack.
Its glowing eyes flickered between the two of them.
Then it charged.
Harold stepped forward deliberately, drawing its attention.
"Come on, ugly," he muttered.
The creature leaped.
At the last second Harold twisted his body aside.
The monster flew past him.
Marcus didn't hesitate.
His glowing fist slammed into the creature's ribs with brutal force.
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the park.
The feral hound howled in pain.
It staggered across the grass, clearly injured now.
Harold didn't give it a chance to recover.
He rushed forward and drove the broken branch down onto its neck with everything he had.
The wood snapped in half.
But the force slammed the creature into the ground.
The feral hound twitched violently for a moment.
Then it went still.
For several seconds neither of them moved.
Marcus stared at the body.
"Did we… just kill it?"
Harold slowly exhaled but didn't answer.
Instead, the system appeared again.
HOSTILE ENTITY DEFEATED
ABILITY BORROW MAINTAINED
DEBT BALANCE INCREASED
Harold frowned.
Another message appeared beneath it.
OUTSTANDING BALANCE: MODERATE
TIME UNTIL COLLECTION: 34 HOURS
His stomach tightened.
The debt had increased again, and the timer seemed to be dropping faster than he expected.
Marcus wiped the sweat from his forehead before looking at Harold carefully.
"You want to explain something?"
Harold stayed quiet.
Marcus crossed his arms.
"You said you didn't have a system."
"I don't."
Marcus pointed toward the dead monster.
"Then how did you just do that?"
Harold shrugged slightly.
"Adrenaline."
Marcus stared at him for a long moment.
Then he laughed.
"Yeah… I don't believe that for a second."
Before Harold could respond, sirens echoed faintly in the distance.
Emergency vehicles were approaching.
Someone must have reported the monster.
Marcus glanced toward the road.
"Looks like the authorities are on their way."
He turned back toward Harold.
"You know what's weird?"
"What?" Harold asked quietly.
Marcus tilted his head slightly.
"You fought that thing like you've done it before, Harold. Tell me the truth."
Harold said nothing.
Marcus smirked faintly.
"Whatever secret you're hiding…"
He shrugged.
"…I'll figure it out eventually. I promise."
The sirens grew louder.
Marcus stepped back toward the park path.
"We should probably leave before they start asking questions."
Harold nodded and picked up his backpack.
The two of them walked out of the park in silence.
But as Harold reached the street corner, the system appeared again.
SHADOW DEBT SYSTEM ALERT
DEBT THRESHOLD APPROACHING
WARNING: USER ACTIVITY EXCEEDING SAFE LIMIT
Harold stopped walking.
Marcus glanced back.
"What?"
"Nothing," Harold said quickly.
Marcus shrugged and continued down the street.
Harold remained where he was for a moment longer.
Another message appeared.
COLLECTION PROTOCOL PREPARING
TIME UNTIL COLLECTION: 32 HOURS
Harold stared at the words.
For the first time since receiving the Shadow Debt System, he began to wonder if borrowing power was truly worth the price.
Maybe the system should have skipped him entirely.
This whole situation was overwhelming.
Harold walked home slowly.
The sun had already begun dipping below the buildings, casting long shadows across the streets. Normally he liked this time of day. It was calm and quiet, the hour when most families were settling in for dinner.
Today it felt different.
The world had changed.
Even the streets looked strange now. People walked around with glowing system interfaces hovering near them. Some practiced their abilities in open spaces, while others gathered in small groups comparing classes and skills like excited gamers discovering a brand-new update.
Harold couldn't help wondering something.
Did those people have debts to repay as well?
Or was he the only one cursed with something like the Shadow Debt System?
He kept his hands in his pockets and avoided eye contact as he walked.
The words from the system kept repeating in his mind.
MODERATE DEBT.
COLLECTION PROTOCOL PREPARING.
When Harold finally reached the apartment building, he paused outside for a moment, taking a slow breath and checking himself to make sure he wasn't stained with the monster's dark blood.
He didn't want Emily worrying.
Inside, the hallway smelled strongly of cleaning chemicals. The maintenance crew had clearly been working hard to erase the evidence of the earlier monster attacks.
New wooden panels covered the damaged doors.
The floors had been scrubbed clean.
But Harold still remembered exactly where everything had happened.
He pushed the thought aside and stepped into the apartment.
Emily was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework.
She looked up immediately when he walked in.
"You're late."
Harold dropped his backpack beside the couch.
"Ran into some… trouble on the way home."
Emily narrowed her eyes.
"Trouble?"
Harold hesitated.
"Another monster."
Her eyes widened instantly.
"What?"
"It was smaller than the one from before," he said quickly. "Authorities were already handling it."
That part wasn't entirely a lie.
Emily studied him for a moment before sighing.